Michael James Radford (born 24 February 1946) is an English film director and screenwriter. He began his career as a documentary director and television comedy writer before transitioning into features in the early 1980s. His best-known credits include the 1984 film adaptation of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four starring John Hurt and Richard Burton (in his final role), the Shakespeare adaptation The Merchant of Venice, the true crime drama White Mischief, and the 1994 Italian-language comedy drama Il Postino: The Postman, for which he won the BAFTA Awards for Best Direction and Best Film Not in the English Language, and earned Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Description above from the Wikipedia article Michael Radford, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 24, 1946 (80)
- New Delhi, India
- Director, writer and producer
- 15 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
What are Michael Radford's films like?
Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 12
Light 2 · Serious 6 · Dark 5
Grounded 6 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 8 · Intense 4
Steady 4 · Shifting 8 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 1
A split, not a type: Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1
Casual 4 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 3
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 8
A split, not a type: Resolved 7 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet7
- Tragic2
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Michael Radford's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Michael Radford's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
22 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Desperate Journey(2025)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
The Music of Silence(2017)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
Elsa & Fred(2014)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
The Mule (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Michel Petrucciani (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Flawless(2007)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
The Merchant of Venice(2004)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Addicted to the Stars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
B. Monkey(1998)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
The Postman(1994)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
White Mischief(1987)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
1984(1984)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all filmsVan Morrison in Ireland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
The White Bird Passes(1980)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Last Stronghold of the Pure Gospel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Love Is Like a Violin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Sweethearts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 22 titles, 21 of them dated from 1977 to 2025.
Biggest box office
The Postman (1994)
Highest rated
The Postman (1994)
Most popular right now
Flawless (2007)
Film career
- 2023Screen debut· Massimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Michael Radford's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 69th percentile, the median of all 14; across their 13 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 64th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th5
- 25th to 49th3
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 73/100 and the pacing 41/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Michael Radford's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films and violence & gore and profanity lighter.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Michael Radford work with?
People who share at least 2 of Michael Radford's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Anna Pavignano shares the most, 3.
Writers
- Anna PavignanoShared titles: The Music of Silence (2017), Elsa & Fred (2014), The Postman (1994)See all 3 shared titles with Anna Pavignano
- Jessie KessonShared titles: Another Time, Another Place (1983), The White Bird Passes (1980)See all 2 shared titles with Jessie Kesson
Actors
- Joss AcklandShared titles: Flawless (2007), White Mischief (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Joss Ackland
- John HurtShared titles: White Mischief (1987), 1984 (1984)See all 2 shared titles with John Hurt
- Gregor FisherShared titles: 1984 (1984), Another Time, Another Place (1983)See all 2 shared titles with Gregor Fisher
- Phyllis LoganShared titles: Another Time, Another Place (1983), The White Bird Passes (1980)See all 2 shared titles with Phyllis Logan
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Luis BacalovShared titles: Elsa & Fred (2014), B. Monkey (1998), The Postman (1994)See all 3 shared titles with Luis Bacalov
- Roger DeakinsShared titles: White Mischief (1987), 1984 (1984), Another Time, Another Place (1983)See all 3 shared titles with Roger Deakins
- Tom PriestleyShared titles: White Mischief (1987), 1984 (1984), Another Time, Another Place (1983)See all 3 shared titles with Tom Priestley
- Peter BoyleShared titles: Elsa & Fred (2014), Flawless (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Boyle
Producers
- Simon PerryShared titles: White Mischief (1987), 1984 (1984), Another Time, Another Place (1983)See all 3 shared titles with Simon Perry
- Gaetano DanieleShared titles: The Music of Silence (2017), The Postman (1994)See all 2 shared titles with Gaetano Daniele
- Bob BellionShared titles: Flawless (2007), The Merchant of Venice (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Bob Bellion
- Jimmy de BrabantShared titles: Flawless (2007), The Merchant of Venice (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Jimmy de Brabant